More Than a Game
by Night1212
Summary: Three years after arriving at Hogwarts, Samantha Knowles best friend Erin turned on her. Since then she has become close with Teddy Lupin. But when Sam makes the decision to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, in her fourth year, will it bring them together or tear another friendship apart?
1. prologue

She remembered the day, she remembered the day Erin and her were sorted. Sorted into separate houses. It had been painful to see her best friend get put into Slytherin and her be put into Gryffindor..

_Headmistress McGonagall continued calling names. One by one the nervous looking first years headed to the front of the Great Hall to be sorted. Sam hadn't been paying attention to where anyone went, how could she when there was so much else to look at? Her eyes wandered greedily over the room, trying to take in everything at once._

"_Knowles, Samantha." _

_Sam nearly jumped when she heard her name called. With a final smile to Erin, she shuffled over to the Sorting Hat. After a moment of silence, she heard the hat call:_

"_GRYFFINDOR!" Enthusiastic applause was heard from the table the farthest to the right. Sam went to join her new housemates and waited eagerly for Erin's name to be called. Though they promised to be friends even if they were in different houses, Sam secretly hoped that her friend would join her in Gryffindor. _

_However, when the name "Malistaire, Erin," was called and the Sorting hat was placed on her wavy black hair,the hat hardly hesitated before shouting:_

"_SLYTHERIN!"_

_Erin gave Samantha a small smile before bouncing over to the Slytherin table. Though somewhat disappointed, Erin had promised that they would stay friends. Their friendship would still work despite the house difference. And it did, for a while. The two girls would meet up between classes they didn't share and gossip about the boys in their house. They could be seen eating together occasionally in the Great Hall. Everything was perfect until third year when Erin changed and gradually drifted away from Sam. Erin made new friends, friends that Sam never particularly liked. Everything seemed to happen so fast and Sam was still struggling to come to terms with the changes. Every day she'd look at her friend and wonder where things went wrong..._

"Hello? Earth to Sam! Are you even listening to me?"

Sam stopped staring at the Slytherin table to glare at her friend, Teddy Lupin. After the fallout with Erin, he had somehow filled the gap that was left behind. She still wasn't sure exactly how it happened; Sam had never met anyone so different from her in her life. Teddy was loud and energetic, constantly getting himself into trouble whereas Sam tended to be more reserved, choosing to put her time towards classes, not mindless riff-raff. Despite their differences, however, Teddy had been there her whole third-year, ready to listen or to cheer her up after a rough day with Erin. After a while seeing the two together became so natural it almost seemed as if they had been friends forever, but Erin was there as a constant reminder that they in fact were not.

"No, I was not listening to you," she said as she speared a potato viciously with her fork. "You were telling the story of that Quidditch match at your family's house again. I know everything that happened already, seeing how you recounted it for me _twice _on the train ride up here."

He groaned. "You have no sense of _fun_, Sam!"

Which was far from true, at least, in her opinion. If she didn't know fun, why would she have plans to join the Quidditch team?

Sam scoffed. "Of course I do!" Teddy didn't look convinced. "Okay, just because I don't like to go around messing with first years like you and your other friends do doesn't mean I can't have fun. Besides," Sam flipped her light brown hair over her shoulder. "If everything goes as planned, Gryffindor will have a new beater this year."

Teddy decided to ignore the comment about first years. He was too interested in Sam's talk about Quidditch(something solemnly talked about) to think of a good comeback.

"Oh really? And who would that be?"

"Uh, me?" Sam thought she had made it pretty clear in her last statement. Teddy often had a knack of missing the obvious. Clearly he hadn't even considered the idea because he nearly choked on his pumpkin juice.

"You? Beater? Ha!" he burst out laughing, like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Which was strange, he'd heard _plenty_ of funny things, way funnier than her wanting to try out for Beater.

"I'm serious, Teddy!" her tone was serious, even moreso than it normally was. She continued to glare at him. He didn't think she could do it, did he? He didn't think she had what it took to be a beater. Talk about friends' support. He was laughing so hard that some of the other Gryffindors began glancing over to see what was happening. Sam could feel her face flushing as she muttered:

"Nevermind, Teddy. Forget I said anything." He could've at least been a _little_ excited that she was going to try out for the team. He had gained the position of Seeker last year, and ever since then it seemed his entire world revolved around the sport.

He tried to control his laughter. "I'm sorry, Sam. But come on, you don't really have the build for a beater anyways. They're usually short and stocky, and you're well... not. I just don't see it working out well."

Well fine, then. She didn't need his approval anyways. Who was he to decide whether or not she could play Quidditch?

Teddy leaned across the table and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"This isn't about you-know-who, is it?" He threw a glance over towards the Slytherin table. Ever since Sam and Erin stopped being friends, they had gotten into the habit of not saying her name aloud.

"No," she lied quickly. A little too quickly, judging by his reaction.

He turned his full attention to her, something he rarely did. "You're lying. It is about Erin, isn't it?" It was the first time he'd said her name in nearly a year, but he wouldn't take it back despite seeing the pain cross Sam's face.

"You're wrong; it's not about Erin. I wouldn't want to join the team if it was about her." She abruptly stood and walked out of the great hall, not waiting for his response. She'd never felt so alone in her life, not even when Erin had turned into a bully. Her heart pounded more than it normally did as she climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor had she become so easy to read? Teddy hardly noticed _anything_, but now he could all of a sudden read her mind? She went straight upstairs to her room and began to rummage through her things, not wanting to see Teddy again tonight. She'd see him at breakfast in the morning when they got their timetables.

* * *

**A.n**

**This is a collab between Aleeta6 and itsverity.  
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	2. Chapter 1

The next morning Sam awoke feeling refreshed, and much better than she had the previous night. After combing her hair and saying a quick hello to her roommates, she bounded down the stairs into the common room lounge in search of Teddy. She wanted to apologize for running out on him so abruptly; he was only trying to be a good friend. Most people just shrugged when she asked if they'd seen Teddy, but finally Harvey Mullins, the captain of the Quidditch team, said he'd already gone down to breakfast.

"So, Knowles, I heard you might be trying out for the Quidditch team this year. Beater, right?" She had been heading towards the portrait hole, but Sam turned back when she heard Harvey's comment. Sam couldn't tell whether or not he was making fun of her, so she simply nodded her head.

"Nice. Well, I'll see you at tryouts next week then." His expression still remained frustratingly impassive.

Sam smiled nervously, still unsure if she was the punchline of some big joke. "Er, yeah, see ya," she managed to say before turning and clambering out of the portrait hole and walking briskly to the Great Hall.

When she got down for breakfast, Teddy was joking around with his friends, like he normally did but she could tell he was worried about something. That something wasn't right. Did he not want to talk about it?

She sat down in her regular spot across from Teddy. She didn't say anything as she played around with her breakfast, suddenly not feeling hungry. Of course, that might've been because she was so worried about her friend, but that was a given and something that just couldn't be helped. If she tried not to worry about people she cared about, it would make her _worry_ even more. A flaw of Samantha Knowles.

Finally Teddy seemed to notice that she was only pushing her food around. He once again adopted a whisper, something he rarely did unless he was plotting a prank, or in this case, trying to keep a conversation with Sam private.

"Why aren't you eating? Are you mad at me for the whole Quidditch thing yesterday? I'm sorry I laughed and accused you of doing it because of Erin."

Okay, so apparently the taboo on the name was over.

Sam rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not mad at you. Well at least not for yesterday. I know you told Harvey Mullins about me wanting to try out."

Teddy looked slightly uneasy. "Er, yeah, I did. I just wanted to see what he thought about the whole thing, you know, since he's the captain and all..."

"And?" Sam raised her eyebrows.

"He actually thinks it's a good idea, says maybe you'll surprise everyone." Teddy took a large bite out of his toast.

So Harvey Mullins _hadn't _ been making fun of her! Sam nearly beamed with pride "At least _somebody_ supports me, Teddy." She had only been teasing, but Teddy seemed to take the jibe personally.

"Of course I support you, Sam. It was just a little surprising, okay? You've never shown any interest in Quidditch before, and now you want to be _beater _of all things?"

"You'll see why I chose to try out for beater during the first game." she smirked as she said it nonchalantly. Teddy looked at her suspiciously. "Okay, fine. It doesn't hurt that I might get the chance to knock Erin off her broom since she's chaser for the Slytherins..."

Teddy threw back his head and laughed. "So I was right, it had at least a _little _to do with Erin."

"Sure, Teddy." Sam smiled, but it was forced. She felt bad about lying to Teddy. Her reasons for wanting to join the team actually had a lot more to do with Erin than he realized.

_Sam and Erin had just finished with potions class, something had been wrong the entire time (Erin hadn't said _anything _to her, despite them being so close). "Erin? Are you alright?" Sam asked, her eyes wide and innocent. She wanted to help her friend, she wanted to know what was wrong with her. _

"_Don't ask me any questions." Erin suddenly sneered, venom in her voice. Hate was clear in her eyes. Something had happened, and Sam wanted to know. Was Erin being bullied because she still talked to a half-blood that wasn't in her House? That wouldn't make sense, they were all friends, right? Wrong. They weren't, and they probably had never been. Would there always be that House divide between Slytherin and Gryffindor? It had gotten so much better after the Battle of Hogwarts, but some prejudices, it seemed, still remained._

"_What? Why?"_

"_You're a bookworm, Sam. You're absolutely _nothing _in this world. I don't even know how you got into this school. You can't even do _potions _right, and that's like the easiest class." Erin said, a condescending tone in her voice. "I don't even know why we became friends, I never liked you." and with that, Erin flounced away. _

_Sam was left there, near the dungeon, with tears brimming her eyes. Why had Erin said such horrible things to her? Was she really horrible at everything? What had she done to make her so mad at her?_

As much as the words had hurt Sam, she felt like there was some truth behind them. She really wasn't anybody, She wasn't part of any clubs or teams, and had spent most of her time either studying for the classes she struggled with or spending time with Erin. That's when the idea of Quidditch first came into her mind, but she ignored it for as long as she could. Well, now she was tired of ignoring it. She had to prove to Erin that she _was _somebody, even if they weren't friends anymore. And yes, if she made the team, she would get a chance to hit Erin with a bludger. It was a win-win situation.

Sam still wasn't sure that Teddy was fully convinced that her reason for wanting to join the team was simply to hit Erin with a bludger, but he didn't press the issue any further. Instead they both focused their attentions on the timetable that were being passed around. All of the fourth year Gryffindors seated near Teddy and Sam gathered in a huddle and began discussing the classes that they shared. Sam glanced over hers and breathed a sigh of relief. Only two classes were shared with Slytherin this year: potions and transfiguration. And since Teddy would be sharing both of those classes with her, she wouldn't have to face Erin on her own. She had to stifle a giggle when she noticed that Teddy was drawing skull and crossbones over the two classes they shared with Slytherin. He noticed and gave her a wolfish grin. Sam couldn't help but smile back. For now, all was well.


	3. Chapter 2

After classes started, nothing interesting happened. At least until Potions, where Sam saw Erin. She was sitting with her house, like something was going to happen soon. Like she was plotting something horrible to do to either Sam or Teddy. Probably both, she also could've been plotting on how _Slytherin_ was going to win this year. How they were going to win by _cheating_ like they did every year. One year, their first year, the Slytherin team actually had some skill and could play without secretly hexing the Seeker or the Bludger. That was the first and last good year for the Slytherin team (at least that's what Sam has seen). Until Erin joined, of course. Once she joined the other teams seemed to always have "problems" when they played Slytherin.

Erin had caught sight of her former friend a few minutes after she'd sat down and stalked over to the side

where Sam was sitting. No doubt planning on bullying her until class started. That was one thing that really got under Teddy's skin. Bullies. His hair went from his natural brownish-color to a fiery red one. It was a sign that most people took as a _back off or else_ sign, but not Erin. She wasn't afraid of him. Why would she be, she believed herself to be more powerful than him.

"Hey, loser." She had ice in her voice. It was so cold, it was surprising that the temperature of the room didn't plummet a few degrees.

_Ignore her? Would that work?_ Sam wondered, unsure. She shuffled a little closer to Teddy. Though she wasn't necessarily proud of it, she knew that Teddy would defend her when she didn't defend herself. Sure enough, hair still flaming, Teddy looked down at Erin as if she were nothing more than an irritating bug that needed to be squished.

"How about you back off, Malistaire?" His voice commanded the attention of everyone in the room. With that and his hair, the whole class held their breath, silently hoping for a showdown.

Sam just wanted to curl up and hide somewhere where no one could find her. Confrontation like this always stressed her out, and she hated that she was at the very center of it all. She hoped desperately that Professor Slughorn would enter the room soon. Why did he always have to be late?

"Oh, isn't that sweet?" Erin sneered. "Looks like Sammy still needs her colorful friend to fight her battles. Well, that isn't too surprising. I always knew you were weak. It's why you always followed me around like a little puppy." A few of the Slytherins, the one's who were in Erin's group, snickered. The rest looked vaguely uncomfortable. Though she had never been very outgoing, most everyone _liked _ Sam for the most part. At least she never gave anyone trouble, so they didn't support Erin's treatment of her, but of course no one would speak up.

Oh, how Sam wanted to say, _At least I actually have friends while you just have a fanclub of jocks_. But she couldn't, she didn't have a voice when it came to Erin.

Just then Slughorn strolled in, "Ah! Miss Malistaire and Miss Knowles! So great to see you talking to each other again!" he beamed at them. "Perhaps you'd like to sit next to each other again, hmm?" It didn't really sound like a question so much as _you're going to sit next to each other for the rest of the year_ type thing. Sam glanced at Teddy, she knew _exactly_ what Slughorn was doing, trying to get her and Erin back to being friends. Erin knew too and made it clear that she would _not_ work with Sam.

"Actually Professor," Erin said sweetly. "I was wondering if I might work with Teddy Lupin instead. We haven't ever worked together in four years."

Both Sam and Teddy's jaws hit the floor. Teddy looked like he was about to explode. Sam decided all at once that there was no way she was going to let Erin try and get in between her and Teddy. Finally finding her voice, she spoke before Slughorn could say anything.

"No!" Everyone turned to look, surprised that she had actually said felt her face flush, but she forced herself to continue. "Um... You know, it might be good if Erin and I worked together..." she trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

Now it was Erin's turn to be shocked. But before she could protest, Slughorn clapped his hands.

"Excellent! I think that pairing will just work _splendidly, _don't you?" There was a glint in the teacher's eyes, like he knew exactly what was going on between the two, and he, being Slughorn, was determined to fix it. Before anyone else could say anything else about the matter, Professor Slughorn paired off the rest of the class. Teddy was also paired with a Slytherin, one of Erin's followers.

_At least he isn't going to have any fun in this class either_, Sam thought to herself. After giving Teddy a weak smile, she walked timidly over to Erin, who had already seated herself at a table near the front of the room. She took a deep breath and sat down next to her. Sam made a point of ignoring the dirty looks that Erin kept shooting at her. Maybe if she continued to ignore her, she might make it through the rest of the class relatively unscathed.

"You're dead after class, Samantha." Erin said with a fake smile and a still cold voice.

Sam forced her eyes to not roll, antagonizing the _beast_ would not work in her favor. The rest of the class passed in an uncomfortable silence. As soon as Slughorn dismissed the class, Sam all but bolted for the door, grabbing Teddy along the way. She wasn't too interested in seeing whether or not Erin actually intended to do anything now that potions was over. Quickly the pair made it's way down the hall, not stopping until they were sure Erin and her gang weren't anywhere near.

"Why didn't you just let me work with her, Sam?" Teddy questioned as soon as they stopped. He was obviously confused as to why she had interfered with Erin's undoubtedly evil scheme to destroy their friendship.

"Like I was going to let _that_ happen," Sam scoffed. "She was obviously wanted to work with you so she could try and turn you into one of her evil minions. Plus, I'm pretty sure one of you was going to end up strangled before the class was over."

Teddy smiled a bit at this. "We both know it wouldn't have been me. But that was pretty brave of you, Sam."

"Well, they didn't put me in Gryffindor for nothing!"

"Only took you four years to find a voice when it comes to bullies." Teddy smirked playfully.

She rolled her eyes, "I don't know why I found one today, it was probably just a one-time-thing." she muttered.

"I don't know, Sam," Teddy laughed as he began to walk again. "Confrontation gets easier every time! You might surprise yourself!"

Sam followed behind him slowly. She highly doubted confrontation was going to become a regular thing for her. "Sure, whatever you say, Teddy."

He flashed a grin over his shoulder. "Well, I've got to get going to Herbology. See you in Transfiguration." Teddy turned the next corner and walked away, waving before he disappeared out of sight.

Sam sighed and made her way to Divination. At least she'd have a small break before having to see Erin again.

* * *

Divination was boring, much like it had been the year before. The only interesting thing that happened was that she actually had a break from everyone else (well, all of her friends). The class ended all too quickly and soon it was time for lunch. Which was much later than she was used to, Sam usually had lunch around noon, but this year they had it around 2:30ish, which was a little strange seeing as how we always had a larger number of first years than any other grade. Most people transferred to another school, like RMI, a wizarding school in the Rocky Mountains, which was in America.

"How was Divination?" Teddy asked as they met up again.

"It was boring, as usual. But at least it's better than Transfiguration will be..."

"Hey, at least it's the last class for the day, right?"

"But it's with the Slytherins," Sam pointed out. She was not looking forward to seeing Erin again.

"There is no way we're going to have a repeat of Potions, okay?" Teddy grinned and turned his hair turquoise, something he knew made Sam laugh. It worked.

"You look ridiculous, Teddy! Cut it out!"

He didn't, of course. Teddy quite liked the stares he got from the other students whenever he did something wacky, like changing his hair color.

As they sat down, Sam couldn't help but glance over at the Slytherin table. Teddy noticed and immediately changed his hair back to his normal color and sighed.

"Sam, do you have to do that _every _time we eat here?"

"Do what?" Sam crossed her arms defensively.

"Look over at their table! It's like you're inviting her to mess with you later."

"I can't help it," Sam grumbled. Sometimes it felt like she really couldn't help but look. It seemed as if though Erin still had an influence over her, even if they weren't friends anymore. Teddy said nothing, just chewed his sandwich in silence. Desperate for the conversation to continue, Sam decided to change the subject.

"So, are you excited for tryouts next week?"

"Yeah! I'm pretty confident that I'll get seeker again unless someone random shows up this year... Speaking of random people showing up, are _you _ready for tryouts?"

Sam shrugged. "I think so, but I guess I won't really know until then, will I? I mean I practiced flying over the summer, but..."

"Talking about Quidditch, are we?" Harvey Mullins had just arrived and sat down next to Teddy. The two boys immediately launched into a discussion of the strategies they thought would be good for the year, and Sam tried to pay attention to the conversation, seeing how she might need to know this if she were to make the team.

After lunch, Sam and Teddy entered the Transfiguration room with caution. It appeared that Erin didn't want to end up in the same situation as she had in potions, because she didn't do anything more than glare at Sam. The class commenced without a hitch, and no one was forced to be paired with someone they didn't want to work with.

* * *

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